Dean Wilson wins Saturday SX1 Final

Wilson Todd the victor in SX2

Mitch Evans fractures L2/L3/L4 and pelvis

By Marc Jones

Supercross moved indoors for Round 4 of the Australian Championship this weekend with Aus-X Open returning to Qudos Bank Arena for the third year running, bringing with it some of the world’s best athletes to Australia’s biggest stage.

SX1

The international force dominated the SX1 qualifying, headed by Jason Anderson who topped the session ahead of team-mate Dean Wilson. Series leader Justin Brayton was well placed in third and looked potent aboard his Penrite Honda.

Once the gate dropped in the heats, Wilson proved his worth and ran away to an easy victory over Dan Reardon. The second heat saw Anderson take on Brayton and they didn’t disappoint. Anderson led early but was under immense pressure throughout the race from Brayton. The gap closed up to less than a bike length, but Anderson held on to take the win.

With only 12 riders making the main event, starts were crucial in ensuring riders had the best chance to transfer easily, but for some notable riders, this proved an issue. This lead to a stacked LCQ, featuring riders that are normally a podium threat at any other race. American import RJ Hampshire and Todd Waters claimed the final two spots, leaving factory riders Luke Clout and Nick Schmidt heading home early.

Carnage erupted in the first corner of the main event after Justin Brayton clipped a tough block on the inside of a corner, taking down Jason Anderson, Todd Waters, and Joel Wightman. Nathan Crawford led the pack but was under pressure early from Dan Reardon. Dean Wilson used the short cut lane to move past Kade Mosig into third. Six laps into the race, Reardon made a move on Crawford, and Wilson quickly followed moving into second.

Anderson slowly clawed his way through the pack and made his way into the top five at the half way point of the race. As lappers entered the equation, Wilson ran up the inside of Reardon to take the number one spot. Mosig was under pressure from Anderson and held off the American for several laps before losing the spot.

Anderson then started to close in on Wilson but time was against him but held onto second place ahead of Reardon. Smooth and consistent laps from Wilson led him to an opening night win.

Aus-X Open - Dean Wilson — Aus-X Open – Dean Wilson

Series points leader Justin Brayton had a night to forget, going down twice after the first corner incident, relegating him to an eighth-place finish.

He keeps the red plate heading into night two, but the inclusion of international riders mixed with only having twelve start gates proved crucial in the series points race.

AUS-X Open 2017 Results – Saturday SX1 Final

Dean Wilson – Husqvarna
Jason Anderson – Husqvarna +1.705
Dan Reardon – Kawasaki +6.633
Kade Mosig – Yamaha +11.268
Dean Ferris – Yamaha +16.510
Nathan Crawford – Kawasaki +17.736
Dylan Long – Yamaha _18.416
Justin Brayton – Honda +1 lap
Jesse Dobson – Honda +1 lap
Todd Waters – Honda +1 lap
Joel Wightman – Honda +1 lap
RJ Hampshire – Honda +1 lap

SX1 Series Points (After Round 4)

Brayton 88
Ferris 78
Reardon 72
Long 68
Mosig 61
Waters 61
Crawford 58
Clout 40
Wightman 38
Dobson 34

SX2

After SX2 points leader Gavin Faith headed home between rounds to get surgery, Penrite Honda sought after fellow AMA Arenacross star Chris Blose to take on Australia’s best 250 riders. Blose started his day off in style, laying down the fastest lap in qualifying, before taking the win in his heat race.

Unfortunately during heat 2, Mitch Evans landed on the back of Aaron Tanti, leaving both riders being stretchered off thanks to the prompt and professional work by the Racesafe crew.

Mitch Evans went down hard and was later found to have fractured his L2/L3/L4 vertebrae and broke his pelvis in two places

Blose entered the main event hot favourite, but Yamaha duo Wilson Todd and Jackson Richardson had other plans. Todd crossed the white line first and led the field into the first corner.

Blose and Richardson were hot on his tail and exchanged positions early before the introduction of the short cut lane, which allowed riders one chance to skip the whoop section in the final. Richardson used it early to propel past Todd to take the lead, but Todd returned the favour the very next lap. Blose was last use the short cut and moved into second after coming narrowly short of passing Todd.

The three riders ran away from the pack, catching lappers mid race. This proved an issue for Blose as a lapped rider moved out of the way, not realising Blose has taken a wide line to make the pass.

AUS-X Open 2017 - Wilson Todd — AUS-X Open 2017 – Wilson Todd

This gave Todd a bit of breathing space, and with only a few laps to go, took his second win of the series, and took over the championship points lead.

A last corner crash for Jackson Richardson left the crowd in disbelief, but his lead over fourth-placed rider Jay Wilson was big enough that he held onto the final podium spot.

Geran Stapleton crossed the line in fifth for his best result of the year and was the last rider left on the lead lap.